As a now-rabid Child of Yost, I'm trying to find some good college hockey blogs/sites to follow to stay current with news and analysis (not just Big Ten.) Looking to expand my knowledge beyond the links on the side on this website.

Does the MGoBoard have any recommendations? I have read Puck Daddy's coverage once the Frozen Four started in the past, and I know SBNation has a college hockey blog, but if there are other good sources you use for info, please share!

Michigan men represent excellence academically and athletically. At least that's what they represent if you believe the two statues above the doors to the Union. Milford men, on the other hand, are adept at being neither seen nor heard. Buster Bluth was a Milford man. The 2012-13 Michigan hockey team played like one.

The 2012-13 Michigan Wolverines took the ice in October ranked #3 in the country by USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. That preseason poll was the highlight of the season. Things went downhill quickly, and if you've been reading this blog for a while you'll remember that this team didn't do much to endear itself to the Michigan faithful. Now that we've had time to let the healing power of the basketball team's run to the title game and football recruiting goodness to soak in I think it's time to go back and try to figure out what went wrong for the team that broke The Streak™.

For comparison, let's look at the stats of the 2011-12 Wolverines versus those of the 2012-13 squad. This idea was inspired by Ron Utah's excellent post comparing the 2011 and 2012 football teams. The 11-12 hockey team lost in the first round, so we aren't exactly starting with high expectations for success here. Shawn Hunwick, Luke Glendening and David Wohlberg were the most significant departures from the 11-12 team.

2011-12 Michigan Hockey: 24-13-4 overall. 15-9-4 conference

Home: 15-5-1, Away: 4-6-3. Neutral: 5-2-0

Team Statistics

MICH

OPP

SHOT STATISTICS

Goals-Shot attempts

132-1376

89-1242

Shot Pct.

.096

.072

Goals/Game

3.2

2.2

Shots/Game

33.6

30.3

Assists

233

147

POWER PLAYS

Goals-Powerplays

23-156

27-171

Conversion Percent

.147

.158

Shot Attempts

189

232

Shot Percent

.122

.116

GOAL BREAKDOWN

Total Goals

132

89

Power Play

23

27

Short-handed

4

1

Empty Net

7

2

Penalty

0

0

Unassisted

4

5

Overtime

6

1

Shootout

0

0

Delayed Penalty

0

0

PENALTIES

Number

219

210

Minutes

521

549

Penalties/Game

5.3

5.1

Pen minutes/Game

12.7

13.4

Minor

203

187

Major

9

11

10-minute Misconduct

2

1

Game Minsconduct

3

7

Gross Misconduct

0

0

Match

2

4

FACEOFFS (W-L)

1299-1314

1314-1299

Faceoff W-L Pct.

.497

.503

SHOOTOUTS (Made-Att)

2-14

4-12

2012-13 Michigan Hockey: 18-19-3 overall, 10-15-3 conference

Home: 10-8-1. Away: 5-8-2, Neutral: 3-3-0

Team Statistics

MICH

OPP

SHOT STATISTICS

Goals-Shot attempts

129-1344

130-1126

Shot pct.

.096

.115

Goals/Game

3.2

3.2

Shots/Game

33.6

28.1

Assists

209

198

POWER PLAYS

Goals-Powerplays

31-164

24-162

Conversion Percent

.189

.148

Shot Attempts

244

183

Shot Percent

.127

.131

GOAL BREAKDOWN

Total Goals

129

130

Power Play

31

24

Short-handed

7

6

Empty Net

4

3

Penalty

1

1

Unassisted

10

11

Overtime

0

1

Shootout

-

-

Delayed Penalty

-

-

PENALTIES

Number

209

212

Minutes

470

451

Penalties/Game

5.2

5.3

Pen minutes/Game

11.8

11.3

Minor

200

208

Major

4

1

10-minute Misconduct

1

2

Game Misconduct

3

1

Gross Misconduct

0

0

Match

1

0

FACEOFFS (W-L)

1302-1229

1229-1302

Faceoff W-L Pct.

.514

.486

SHOOTOUTS (Made-Att)

-

-

What happened?

I highlighted the things that really stood out to me. Everything is open for interpretation, but let's start with the basics. The 11-12 team scored 43 more goals than they allowed, while the 12-13 team scored one fewer goal than they allowed. Ouch. If you're wondering how shot volume impacted things, it doesn't get any prettier. Michigan had very similar offensive output in 11-12 and 12-13; their total shots were about the same and their scoring percentage was an identical 9.6%. The real fluctuation from year-to-year occurs when you look at the opponent's shots; 1242 allowed in 11-12 versus 1126 in 12-13. Even though the 11-12 team allowed more shots opponents only scored on 7.2% of them, compared with 11.5% in 12-13.

Special teams can't be used to explain away the year-to-year differences. Michigan actually scored more power play goals in 12-13 (31) than they did in 11-12 (23). Looking at it from the perspective of the penatly kill, MIchigan allowed fewer power play goals in 12-13 (24) than they did in 11-12 (27). Michigan spent less time on the penalty kill in 12-13, but they also spent almost two minutes less per game on the power play that season. It appears as though Michigan was outmatched at even strength throughout the 12-13 season, so much so that they missed the tournament and won six fewer games.

What does it mean for next season?

I wish I knew. Steven Racine established himself as the starter going into 2013-14, and that's more than you can say for the 12-13 team. There are some good prospects coming in (highlighted by former US NTDP forward JT Compher), but is that enough to replace the mass exodus of point scoring that Michigan will suffer this offseason? It doesn't seem likely. Michigan loses AJ Treais' 31 points, Jacob Trouba's 29 points, and Kevin Lynch's 27 points. Those were three of Michigan's top six pointgetters in 12-13. On the other hand, Michigan's problem in 12-13 was clearly one of defense and not offense so anything is possible. All it takes are guys who are willing and able to forecheck and backcheck, and as a sport hockey still lacks the sophisticated statistics that are able to capture the more esoteric elements of the game.

Michigan is barely mentioned, but she does discuss B1G hockey and how NCAA hockey is on the rise in general.

When the Big Ten announced in March 2011 that it would be formally adding hockey to its slate of conference-sponsored sports beginning in 2013-14, the news triggered a seismic shift in a historic, if increasingly precarious, landscape. Gone from the storied WCHA next year will be the two teams I traveled to see: Minnesota, one of its founding members, and Wisconsin, one of its most successful. The Gophers and the Badgers will no longer share an intraconference rivalry with heated rival North Dakota.9 Instead, they'll be doing battle against traditional football foes like Michigan, which has a storied hockey history to rival their own — as well as Penn State, whose D-I hockey program, funded to the tune of over $100 million by PSU alum and Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula, just made its debut this fall.